Truth or Dare
by Saint Lucifer-The Damned
Summary: A little snapshot in time with Brian and Michael.


_Truth or Dare_

_A/N: Well, this is my first attempt at QaF and it's with my favorite pairing! Brian and Michael. Always one looking for angst, these two are full of it and with my favorite traits in each. A domineering asshole and an undecisive geek. It's fantastic and they should be together in my opinion. I love them together and how they interact. There are aspects of them that I find overdone in fiction and there are parts that I've seen people collectively write that I love about them and feel the same one. This is one of many, something short and sweet to get me started. There are more on the way, so if you enjoy this one, please keep an eye out for others! Enjoy!_

_~SL_

Brian was stretched out on his side, lounging on the floor with a hand holding his head up as the other brought a joint to his lips. The cherry flared as he inhaled and squinted his eyes, smiling as Michael's laughter trailed off from reciting yet another high school memory.

"Remember," Brian said, chuckling and passing the joint over the table to Michael. "Remember when we went to that party? The one for Jason... Christ, Jason Summers?"

Michael snickered, coughing short plumes of smoke. "Mm, he was the basketball player, right? The only reason we started going to the school games. Well, you got invited to the party anyways."

"You were my date, Mikey," he crooned, scootching over the white rug to Michael and resting his head on one of his friend's thighs, reaching up for the joint as Michael took another hit.

Michael eased the joint into the long outstretched fingers and the hand automatically dropped to tangle into Brian's hair without thought. Smoothing it over and petting through it constantly. Brian's eyes shut for a brief moment as the fingers massaged his scalp lightly. He never could beat times like this, when they just were.

"You mean I was your second choice," Michael snorted.

Brian rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Mikey, that's not true. I took you everywhere with me."

"Any chance to show me off and get me fucked up," he shot back, grinning. "I know your tricks at this point."

Brian laughed, taking a few short puffs on the joint to keep it lit, blowing smoke out his nose as he smiled. "Aw, don't be like that. You had a good time at that party."

Michael hummed quietly trying to recall the memory of the party now. Jason Summers had a party, he knew that much. Probably some big win or something without parents at home. Brian had gotten invited and dragged Michael out with him, dazing him with a kiss and tempting him with more to come without ever saying it. As much as they weren't really out at school, they got away with a lot right in plain sight.

Some people were just dumb, Michael guessed.

"Ah, you figured it out yet?" Brian asked, cocking an eyebrow up at his friend through a haze of acrid smoke. "C'mon, Mikey, I know you can do it."

"Truth or dare," his friend answered after a minute, plucking the joint from Brian's fingers.

Brian looked confused. "What, now? You want to play now?"

"No, prick," Michael said as he rolled his eyes. "Truth or dare, that's what happened at that party. Everyone got wasted and someone made it seem like it was the greatest idea in the world."

"Hey, I don't know about you, but Jason blew me that night because of that game," Brian informed Michael, as if that was reason enough the game really _had_ been the greatest idea in the world.

Michael sighed. "Yes, I know. I was there, of course I know! But while you got head from Jason, I got to clean up after Sara Feldmen."

"Oh my god," Brian snickered, pushing himself off Michael's thigh. "Tell me the story, Mikey."

"You already know the story."

"Tell it to me again."

Michael fumbled on the table for a lighter, the joint going out in his forgetfulness to take a drag and Brian waiting, smiling expectantly at his friend for him to retell one of the funniest stories they had between them. Michael smiled around the joint as it caught the flame, Brian looked like a kid again, back when they were fourteen, before he had completely perfected his stoic style. He coughed, squinting through the plume of smoke that emerged when the joint relit and handed it over to Brian.

"Alright," Michael said, placing his hand behind him flat on the floor and leaning back. "So, we went to Jason's party and we were high before hand and then you got me loaded on whiskey along with Sara and that's when we found out she liked me, so when someone suggested truth or dare you dared her to kiss me."

Brian was tittering with excitement as he sucked down the last of the joint, the cherry absently burning the tips of his fingers. He dropped it into the ashtray on the table and couldn't wait for Michael to finish the story and picked up where he left off.

"I dared her to kiss you and then when she leaned in," Brian went on, leaning in towards Michael, as if to reenact the moment. Michael leaned towards Brian, eyes half lidded and haze from the drugs. The words were drowned out to him until Brian started laughing, ducking his head down. "And then she threw up all over you!"

Michael let himself fall backwards onto the floor in a huff. Just like Brian to fuck up the moment and it was also like him to bring it back at the worst of times. He stared at the ceiling, tangling a hand into his dark hair and tugged it gently in frustration. Brian was frustrating. He heard the rustle of plastic and flick of the lighter. It took a minute before Michael recognized the smell, it was one of Brian's cigarettes. He lifted his head up and saw Brian staring off as he smoked, pensive almost.

He opened his mouth, about to ask Brian what was on his mind when he was cut off.

"Truth or dare, Mikey."

Michael sat up, perched on his forearms and stared at his friend. "Are you retarded? We're not playing this game."

"Why not?" Brian asked, tapping a length of ash into the ashtray.

"Because, Brian, I think you need more people to play this game effectively."

Brian's lips twitched upward and he looked over at Michael. "Nah. Spin the bottle? Definitely need more people, but truth or dare? Two people works."

They looked at each other, Michael's apprehension growing. Realizing Brian wouldn't give up he opted for truth.

"Did you really want to go to Portland?" Brian asked, never breaking eye contact.

Michael worried his bottom lip, being the first one to look away, eyes downcast. "Honestly... I wanted to try. I wanted someone to... want _me_. Have a life together, maybe be a family."

After he and Hank had gotten past their misconceptions, Michael had really looked forward to being part of his life, not really overstepping as being a father figure, but just... helping.

When Brian kept staring, Michael rolled his eyes. "I know, it's all an ersatz of heterosexual conformist bullshit... but it's something I know I wanted."

Brian crushed out the cigarette, lying back down and putting his head in Michael's lap again. Michael's hand automatically found its way into the brown locks.

"And now?"

"Now?" Michael asked, looking down at his friend. "Well, now there's Ben and Hunter and Mel's pregnant with my child... I'll have everything I ever wanted."

Brian snorted softly. "You're pathetic, Mikey."

"Truth or dare."

"Truth," Brian said, curious to what information Michael wanted to pry out of him. He was betting on Justin.

"Were you trying to keep yourself alone?" Michael asked, twirling a strand of hair between his fingers. "When you had cancer and you didn't tell me. Was it because you really wanted to be alone?"

Brian arched an eyebrow in surprise. Not exactly what he was thinking about. He sat up to find the other joint left sitting on the table. Never ending supply in his loft and it was good. Lighting that up, he let his head fall back into Michael's lap, making soft little Os with the smoke up towards Michael's face.

"Cut it out," Michael said, blowing air to dissipate the rings.

"Well, Mikey, what would you like me to do?" Brian asked, contemplating the question. "Tell you that it would be easier to die alone if it came to that because I didn't want to see you cry like you did when you found out? Or that I didn't want you to take care of me and see my wiped out from treatment like Vic? Yeah, I was trying to keep myself alone because I didn't want to freak you out. I can take care of myself, mother, I'm a big boy."

"You know that you're an asshole?"

"You know I went through radiation?"

"Fine. You win," Michael gave up, taking the joint from his friend. They went back to comfortable silence now. There was nothing to digest about their answers, Michael knew that Brian would make it as off putting as possible and somehow sentimental. Brian knew that Michael still wanted his pseudo-heterosexual dreams reached, as much as he wanted to spit out his long list of impassioned speeches against them.

Michael cleared his throat, debating on breaking the content silence as he held the joint to Brian's lips and felt the heat as his friend sucked, hard. "Truth or dare," he finally said.

"Dare me."

"I dare you," Michael said, pausing to think as drew out the last word. "To... show me."

Brian looked up waiting for Michael to finish. There had to be more to it than that. Michael only smiled down at him, a little quirk to his lips. It was cute, Brian admitted, like the other man had a secret he wasn't going to tell. Or maybe it was the drugs, he was grounded but certainly in and out of his own headspace.

"I give up," he said, holding the joint between his lips as he hoisted himself up out of Michael's lap. "I've tried my mind reading powers and I've tried my Rage powers of mind persuasion with my bedroom eyes... but I still have no idea what I'm supposed to show you. Care to share?"

Michael traded him the information for the joint. "Show me what I've been missing all these years, Brian Kinney," he elaborated, voice tight as he held in smoke.

Brian played it off, like he usually did. "C'mon, Mikey. We've already done 'I'll show you mine if you show me yours'."

"Doesn't count because-"

"Because we didn't come, I know. You're taken," he argued lightly, removing the joint from his friend's possession. "And high. Big Ben wouldn't be pleased at all."

Michael giggled, he had hit his limit, Brian knew. "Who cares? He's not here."

"Mikey, Mikey," Brian tsk-ed, shaking his head. "What am I going to do with you?"

"You're supposed to show me, that was the dare," Michael supplied, wrapping his arms around Brian's shoulders, curling up to him. Brian's free arm snaked around Michael's waist. It was automatic between them.

"And if I take a chicken on this one?" Brian asked, making a dramatic gesture out of taking a hit.

Michael knitted his brows, thinking of a comeback. "I'd tell everyone that Brian Kinney is a chicken?"

Brian chuckled as he exhaled. "C'mon now, Mikey. Who would believe you?"

Sighing, Michael sunk deeper into Brian's side. "It's not fair, y'know?"

"What?"

"I dunno. Everyone gets you and I've had you this whole time and... well, I dunno. Ben's probably going to propose soon. He's already starting to complain that our apartment is too small," Michael trailed off.

Brian rolled his eyes. "It's everything you ever wanted. Go with the flow, why want anything more?"

"M'settling," he muttered.

"Hm?"

"Settling," Michael pronounced clearly, sighing as he buried his face into the crook of Brian's neck. "I get what I want with the wrong person."

"You are full of drugs," Brian responded absently, the one hand he had wrapped around his friend's waist was rubbing his back rhythmically. Michael was probably going to get sentimental at this point, maybe cry. Michael was the only person Brian knew that had such ups and down with weed. It was just weed and it always perplexed Brian just how emotional Mikey could get.

Michael sniffled. "You're full of shit."

"Hey, hey, Michael," Brian said softly, changing gears when he heard the sniffle and nudge Michael with his shoulder to get him to look up. When he did, Brian kissed him gently.

Michael knew Brian had a few different ways to kiss him. There were those hard ones when he was frustrated beyond words or wanted to shut Michael up. There were the times like this, when Brian had no idea what to say to make him feel better. They were soft, almost tender which wasn't a word Brian Kinney wanted applied to himself. There were others that he did out of joy, pure happiness caught in the moment and time when he was out to piss off the straights and Michael was the closest person nearby. But all of them, every time, lasted just a little too long. Long enough to make Michael ache and question everything in his life all over again after he thought he finally had everything he needed, let alone wanted.

Brian pulled back, gathering himself together, dropping the dead joint into the ashtray he rested their foreheads together. His now free hand wrapped around Michael neck and a thumb ran over his cheek as Michael kept letting the tears fall quietly. They were slowing, but it still hurt Brian to see him cry either way.

"C'mon, Mikey, let's go to bed," he murmured.

Michael shook his head. "Ben... Hunter." He had to go home.

"Michael," Brian said in a quiet warning tone, locking eyes with those watery dark brown ones. There was no room to budge. Michael shook his head again anyways, but didn't move.

Brian smiled. "C'mon, Mikey. I dare you."

_A/N: And that's the first one. It's a oneshot, and as you can tell, I haven't really set a time or place in the seasons for this, just that Michael is with Ben and they have Hunter. I'm not really a fan of adding onto what's already happened in the season, but I don't like to ignore what has happened in the actual seasons. Hence the Ben and Hunter. This was just trying to get a feel for each of them. I don't like making Michael too... weak, I guess. I don't like him at Brian's beck and call, but weed can do some crazy shit. lol I left it open ended because I didn't even know what they were going to do in bed. Could be a sleepover, could be something more. They're sneaky enough! Brian has a strange set of morals, in my opinion._

_So, there you have it! I hope you liked it, any reviews are appreciated. _

_~SL_


End file.
